Special FA Cup Night

Last updated : 18 April 2007 By Paul Fisher

from the official website www.chesterfield-fc.co.uk

SPIREITES CELEBRATE FINEST HOUR

Memories

On a weekend where the Spireites could be relegated to League Two, the fans have got the perfect antidote by dreaming about the club's finest hour.

It's ten years since Chesterfield's sensational FA Cup run was the talk of the nation, ending in a remarkable FA Cup Semi-Final at Old Trafford against Middlesbrough, which Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has since described as: "One of the greatest non-United events ever staged at the Theatre of Dreams".

To commemorate the tenth anniversary Chesterfield's all-conquering cup-team is re-uniting one more time to meet the fans this Sunday 22 April 2007, at the town's Winding Wheel concert venue, from 7.30pm, in an event being organized by the Chesterfield Football Supporters Society (CFSS).

All the cup heroes will be there including last-gasp goal hero Jamie Hewitt and Jonathan Howard, whose controversially disallowed goal could have meant passage to a Wembley cup final.

Also attending will be goalkeeper Billy Mercer, defenders Mark Jules, Sean Dyche and Darren Carr, midfielders Tom Curtis, Paul Holland and Chris Beamont, forwards Tony Lormer, Kevin Davies and Andy Morris, and as well as, former manager John Duncan and his assistant Kevin Randall.

One person who will not be attending is match referee David Elleray who is adjudged to have made one of the biggest refereeing blunders in the oldest cup competition in the world.

He has sent the club a letter of goodwill and a signed referees shirt, which is being added to the Spireites FA cup-run memorabilia which is being kept for posterity and display at the club's proposed new stadium.

The controversial referee has also conceded that the incident convinced him that match officials should have assistance from goal-line technology. He has told the club that: "Had such technology been available at Old Trafford then the outcome of that semi-final may well have been very different."

Tickets for this special event costing £10, which includes supper and a unique commemorative poster, are on sale from the football club's ticket office and at the Spar shop on Whittington Moor until Sunday.

Just three players from the cup squad aren't able to make the event, they are Mark Williams, Chris Perkins and Andy Leaning.

Cup memorabilia note: Chesterfield FC is once again appealing for any information that could lead to the recovery of the club's missing FA Cup replica jewel, specially crafted by local jeweller Stuart Bradley, that mysteriously disappeared from the club's trophy cabinet during Darren Brown's controversial regime around 2000. Anyone with any information should contact the club on 01246 209765.